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The infamous front gate at Auschwitz I
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An enlargement of the ironic inscription on the gate:
"Arbeit Macht Frei", German for "Work will make you free"
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The grounds and buildings look much today as they did in the early 1940's. The
prisoners had to keep the camp looking immaculate in addition to their other
work. However, the crematoria and factories would have been putting out huge
amounts of soot to be scrubbed off the bricks each day.
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The buildings themselves look pretty nice, but each one was a dormitory for 800
prisoners, and they're just not that big. Today, they hold the exhibits.
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There were no escapes from either Auschwitz I or II. However, some prisoners
got away from the factories and other work areas outside the gate.
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Not only were the fences topped with barbed wire, they were also electrified.
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The prisoners gathered here each morning for roll call. The metal frame on the
left was a gallows, which would generally have bodies on it.
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The courtyard of the infamous blocks #10 and #11, where military prisoners were
executed by firing squads.
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The only crematorium chimney at Auschwitz I. Many experiments with mass
execution were performed at Auschwitz I, including the eventually successful
arrangement of poisoning with Zyklon B, which was later implemented on a large
scale at the nearby camp at Birkenau.
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After the gas chambers were installed at Auschwitz II-Birkenau, the
experimental gas chamber at Auschwitz I was converted into an air-raid shelter
for the SS Guards.
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